Sprint's LG Optimus S may be a budget Android device, but apparently that isn't going to stop Sprint and LG from providing Android updates going forward. Today, Sprint announced via its Community Forums that an update to Android 2.3 (Gingerbread) is rolling out to some devices beginning today, with all devices being updated within 10 days.

Verizon just keeps pumping out LTE connectivity in new areas across the country -- we saw no less than 15 cities get their piece of the LTE pie last month, and now 26 more are all set to get lit up tomorrow, September 15th. VZW already dropped the names of 15 of those cities last month, but here's the list in its entirety:

Fort Smith and Jonesboro, AR

San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara, CA

Daytona, FL

Bloomington, Champaign/Urbana, Rockford and Springfield, IL

the Quad Cities, IL/IA; Iowa City, IA

Shreveport, LA

Kalamazoo and Saginaw, MI

Reno, NV

Las Cruces, NM

Fargo, ND

Canton, Lima and Mansfield, OH

Dyersburg, TN

the Tri-Cities, TN/VA

Austin, Beaumont/Port Arthur, Wichita Falls and El Paso, TX.

VZW customers in San Francisco, CA; Indianapolis, IN; and Cleveland/Akron, OH can also expect an expanded LTE coverage area.

HTC Merge users on US Cellular, your day has come. Forget about Froyo, aka Android 2.2, and zoom straight to the latest version of Android available for non-Nexus phones - 2.3.4 "Gingerbread" (HTC version 3.10.573.1 to be exact - the image below taken from the update guide is outdated).

The update will need to be applied on a computer using HTC Sync and will wipe your device clean of emails, contacts, calendars, apps, bookmarks, and any other personalization - it'll basically be back to stock.

When Samsung officially unveiled the US variants of the Galaxy S II, the spec sheet for T-Mobile's variant was oddly absent from the show. After that, we started hearing that it would not be sporting the same Exynos processor of its AT&T and Sprint siblings, but rather a chip from a "different manufacturer," with no word as to who that manufacturer could be.

Today, though, one Twitter-er had enough with the guesswork and decided to get an answer directly from the source: @GalaxySsupport, the official support account for all US Galaxy S devices.

The Samsung Galaxy S II (SGSII) has been one of the most highly anticipated devices in recent memory - perhaps second only to the annual new iPhone. There are two very good reasons for this: first, the original Galaxy S devices were hailed as some of the best on the market. Second - and more importantly - from its start as an on-paper proof, to its run on the trade show circuit, through its international release, the Galaxy S II been hailed as one of (if not the) best phone on the market.

Google has made good on its promise to expand carrier billing for the Android Market internationally today, introducing the feature to customers on various carriers in three countries. This is great news for consumers, and even better news for developers.

South Korean users on SK Telecom and KT Corporation, UK users on Vodafone UK, and German users on Vodafone DE will all be receiving access to direct carrier billing in the coming weeks.

US Cellular just sent out a presser for the upcoming Motorola Electrify, which is basically a rebranded Photon 4G minus WiMax. There's little doubt that this will be US Cellular's flagship device, as it's far-and-above their current highest-spec'd device:

4.3-inch qHD display

1GHz dual-core NVIDIA Tegra 2 processor

1GB RAM

16GB internal storage

8MP rear camera, VGA front camera

Webtop capable

Kickstand

Android 2.3

The Electrify will be available sometime later this month for $199 with a two-year agreement.

The DROID BIONIC has probably been the single most anticipated Android smartphone in the US. Since its unveiling at CES, subsequent total re-design, and sort-of-delayed release, it has been a long and winding road for Motorola's newest flagship handset. Verizon's massive marketing arm hasn't failed to promote this thing, either - walk into any Verizon store and you'll see employees garbed in BIONIC t-shirts, armed with BIONIC accessory display boxes and a tailor-made marketing spiel, ready to meet you with more LTE and dual-core madness than you can shake a stick at.

We were all left with a bad taste in our mouths after hearing AT&T's pricing for the recently announced HTC Jetstream, but if you're looking for a solid Honeycomb tablet with always-connected mobile access then check out Ma Bell's latest offering: the Acer Iconia Tab A501.

Under the hood, it's the exact same device as the A500, with the inclusion of an HSPA+ radio. The nuts and bolts of it are: